


Of New Brothers and Ambushes

by ishime



Series: Crooked boy [2]
Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series)
Genre: Cute, Fluff, Gen, Silver is Adorable, Wrong but cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-11-12
Updated: 2012-11-12
Packaged: 2017-11-18 13:03:02
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,128
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/561368
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ishime/pseuds/ishime
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Giovanni introduces his newly adopted son to his children.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Of New Brothers and Ambushes

**Disclaimer :** Pokemon and its characters belong to Tajiri Satoshi et Nintendo, not me.   
**Notes :**   
Written for [](http://flo-nelja.livejournal.com/profile)[**flo_nelja**](http://flo-nelja.livejournal.com/) 's prompt "tu te trompes de sens!", which means "You're going/doing it the wrong way!". She gave it for [this bingo book](http://ishime.livejournal.com/50464.html).   
Follows [There Was a Crooked Boy](561152), in which Giovani adopts Archer.   
  


 

When Giovanni first introduces his newly adopted son to his children, neither Ariana nor Silver dare comment. They stand in the middle of the living-room and listen to their father's demands, as clean and tidy as the furniture of the mansion. Archer greets them when asked to, and steps back to observe them closely from Giovanni's shadow.   
  
Ariana stares at him with a calculating glint in her crimson eyes. She's barely sixteen and deadly beautiful in her classy black dress. The lack of color doesn't look severe on her, it accentuates the bright red of her hair, of her eyes and of the R clipped on her breast. She shows no sign of anger or jealousy; her hands stay clasped in her back and her chest rises and falls evenly, Team Rocket's symbol moving along like a pulsating organ.   
She notices Archer's glance and raises a hand to stroke it with the tips of her fingers, a knowing smile tugging at the corners of her mouth. He gives her a small smile of his own. Giovani's daughter is a scary woman, he muses; he wonders if she shares any of his talent with pokemons.   
  
Silver is another matter entirely.   
Archer never was one to care for children. He found them too weak and noisy to be of any interest. Oh, he did battle a few when he was younger but really, it was way too easy for him to enjoy it. His former fellow grunts liked to pretend that it's because he has a soft spot for them - it made Archer chuckle in his earlier days in Team Rocket. The truth is, beating people is no fun unless they put up some resistance, in his opinion. This is why he just smiles and ignores the kids most of the time. They'll learn to fear him in due course.   
But this child is Giovani's, and as such, Archer does care about him and his well-being. Age doesn't really matter here: this boy will become Team Rocket's boss one day, it's only natural for Archer to pay him attention and provide him with entertainment.   
  
So when Giovani strides out of the room and Silver stops staring at Archer with wide red eyes to ask that he plays with him - he even adds a mumbled _please_ after a short pause - Archer's smile only widens. Silver fidgets a bit, shy but obviously determined to get his way, and his hair flutters around his head like spiky red wings.   
"Of course," Archer answers, with a slight bow. "What game do you want to play?"  
Silver beams with pride and joy, and runs to grip Archer's hand.   
"I wanna throw pokeballs!" he shouts.   
Archer blinks. Didn't Giovani warn him that his six-year-old son doesn't have any pokemon of his own yet? This must be some sort of code name for a game, he supposes; he tries to remember a time when the games he played were all childish and innocent, but he can't find anything fitting the name.   
  
Ariana, who sprawled on the couch as soon as Giovanni was out, answers his question before he can ask Silver.   
"Be careful," she says, "he wants to throw the things at you. And they might be stuffed, but they do get annoying when you keep being hit in the face."  
Archer stifles a laugh as Silver sticks his tongue out at her.   
"Well," he says. "I take it I'm supposed to be a pokemon, and you're supposed to catch me?" Silver nods. "Go get your pokeballs, then. I think we'll leave your sister alone and go play in the garden."  
Silver nods again, then patters to the stairs; Archer watches him go up the stairs four at a time, briefly wonders if he should follow him to make sure he doesn't fall before deciding against it. A future boss needs to do things on his own. Besides, Archer has always thought that falling is the best way to learn and become careful. Ariana rouses him from his thoughts by stretching her legs and prodding him with her boot's toe.   
"You're a member of our family now. Don't be a toady. It's boring, and it doesn't suit you anyway."  
She may look relaxed, but she's just as keen as before, her red eyes blazing with the same exact mixture of playful interest and cautious ambition that can be found in her father's. Archer shrugs. He's used to people thinking his devotion to Giovanni is nothing but an act to get ahead. Usually, he doesn't care enough about their opinion to feel insulted; and though Ariana is his boss' daughter - which means he does care about her opinion of him - he is quite certain that she'll understand very soon. She seems clever enough.   
Silver comes down before she can add anything. He runs to Archer and throws a bag at his feet, then looks up with a shy, expectant smile. Archer turns to face him, nods and points toward the door. He can feel Ariana's stare on his shoulders, and resists the urge to face and tease her. She's his boss' daughter, not an underlying he can make squirm as he pleases.   
  
Silver pounces on the bag and starts rummaging through it. Archer opens his mouth to tell him to calm down, and shuts it when he feels Ariana prodding him again.   
"Run, silly. He may be a child, but he's still a Rocket. He won't wait for you to get ready."   
Archer's smile widens. So this cute little boy doesn't play fair. Well, it makes sense. He is Giovani's son, after all. Archer nods and follows Ariana's advice, unhurriedly walking away from the boy. So when Silver stands up, a stuffed ball in each hand, Archer is already in the hallway. He bows, slightly, and opens the closest door to dodge the ball and disappear in the kitchen.    
Silver runs after him, hammers on the door and tries to open it, then steps back and gloats.   
"You took the wrong way, dummy! Now I'll be the first in the garden and I'll ambush you!"  
  
From the worktop he just climbed, Archer listens to the sounds of small feets rushing toward the hall. He reaches for the window handle and stifles a chuckle. The boy is a nasty little thing, and might make a great mob boss someday. But for now? He still has a few things to learn about ambushes and breaking out of a house.


End file.
